Phoon Chiu Yoke, or ‘Badge Lady’ as she has been adoringly nicknamed by fans and followers alike, was spotted at ION Orchard once again doing what she does best – not wearing a mask indoors.
The 55-year-old was spotted at the mall without a mask on Wednesday (Aug 17) by netizens. In a 13-second clip posted online by a netizen by the name of Charlie Tan, Phoon was seen strolling past F&B establishments in her signature blue blouse and red bag.
The video was captioned: “The legend of all legends. She is no.1. Period. Salute!!!!”
Last year, Phoon was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison on Sep 6 after pleading guilty to nine charges of breaching Covid-19 safe distancing measures. She also consented to have 13 additional charges taken into consideration for her sentencing.
On March 6 this year, she was spotted—sans face covering—by popular blogger Wendy Cheng aka Xiaxue along Orchard Road, where the influencer just happened to be filming at the time.
And on March 12, Phoon was seen again, this time at Jewel Changi Airport shortly before 4:30 pm.
A netizen submitted a six-second video of Phoon to mothership.sg walking around with what appeared to be a bag of food in her hand.
Pictures of Phoon were also posted on the Instagram account of Singapore Incidents.
And maybe she gets a pass this time for being unmasked because she was eating? Maybe, maybe not.
In May 2021, the Badge Lady, a former naval officer, had her 15 minutes of fame (or the opposite) not only for refusing to wear a mask but for demanding that the safe distancing officers who asked her to cover her nose and mouth amid the Covid-19 pandemic produce and show her their badges.
Hence, the nickname.
She was spotted repeatedly asking for the safe distancing ambassadors’ badges as they advised her to wear a mask while queueing at MBS.
“If you have no badge, why are you asking me to do something?” she was heard saying. “Who are you representing?” she asked.
The 54-year-old failed to wear a mask last year on numerous occasions in public places, including the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) integrated resort and outside the State Courts.